Pike - Wayne Chapter - 462
TROUT UNLIMITED
Conserving, protecting and restoring North America’s cold water fisheries and their watersheds
115 FLC Road
Hawley, PA 18428
SLOW DOWN THE DRILLING
by Tony Capitano
Last nite, February 24, I attended the Delaware River Basin Commission meeting at the Ballroom of the Best Western in Matamoras with PWTU club member Dennis Kane. The DRBC commissioner and Executive board of directors were not present just their representatives. I am afraid to say that I was not impressed by the Commission, I fear their thoughts were,"Don't confuse us with the facts, our minds are already made up and the state needs the drilling money now. After listening to the pro drilling proponents, I recalled my wife's grandfather Big Johnny " Lemons" once say," Money makes the blind see." At this particular meeting the blind were seeing the color green, while wearing blinders.
Some students spoke regarding a professor from Penn State College reacting to
this fracking process. He said the most disturbing aspect of gas drilling is that
the chemical Benezine has been showing up in the wells and that one part per million
is the limit set by federal standards. Apparently they are finding larger quantities
in the release water. Furthermore, the fracking companies have not been forthcoming
(transparent) regarding chemicals used in the process.
Although I saw no drilling company spokespersons it was evident that they were "seeded" in the audience. Lee Hartman spoke on behalf of the PA Trout Unlimited state council. He was right to the point and on the money.
I spoke with Hartman after his speech, I told him of our most recent Executive Board meeting and our commitment to preserving the pristine waters of our streams and the testing we will be performing in the very near future. I reiterated to him that we expect the PATU State council to make this the Priority of 2010 and push for a moritorium on drilling. This moritorium is needed so we can get unbiased professional testing of this fracking process and the impact it will have on our watershed. I told Lee of the time years ago working at ABC News and traveling up to a place called Love Canal to do a story of disaster created by a company called Oxcidental Petrolium or Chemical. As I entered this ghost town imagining the kids playing, dogs running , the happy families barbequing in the now empty backyards, they called this once peaceful town home, now all is gone. They were left with an apolige from Oxcidental, "We are sorry we did'nt know this would happen." Money made the blind see back then also, but the town lost it's eyes. Let us not wait to close the corral, after the horses have left. Let us not wait for an apology from Stone or Cabot drillers, let us not leave this fight to the other guy, we are the other guy. If we really and truly believe in this cause and the continued prisitine conditions of our watershed let us push for a moritorium. The gas isn't going anywhere and it will still be there when all the EPA,and other independent groups and agencies have completed there tests.
» Action Alert | March 10, 2010
Dear TU Members,
We need your help now more than ever. The public comment period has
been extended on this important issue. Please visit our online action center and
help protect the Upper Delaware River watershed from poorly regulated Marcellus Shale
drilling.
Stone Energy Corporation, a Louisiana-based company is requesting permits
from the Delaware River Basin Commission for two Marcellus Shale gas drilling projects,
one of which would withdraw up to 700,000 gallons of water per day from the West
Branch of the Lackawaxen River in the Upper Delaware River watershed.
WHY WE CARE
Stone Energy Corporation is requesting two permits for Marcellus Shale gas drilling
projects in Wayne County, Pennsylvania, in the Upper Delaware River watershed. This
area has been classified as Special Protection Waters by the Delaware River Basin
Commission with "exceptionally high scenic, recreational, ecological and/or water
supply values."
One application seeks to legalize a Marcellus Shale exploration and
development project at an existing gas well in Clinton Township that was already
drilled in 2008 by Stone Energy without first obtaining approval from the DRBC. The
second permit application proposes to withdraw 700,000 gallons of water per day from
the West Branch of the Lackawaxen River in Mount Pleasant Township. The water would
be used for hydraulic fracturing, the process by which natural gas is extracted from
the Marcellus Shale, deep underground.
The West Branch of the Lackawaxen River is
a valuable, high-quality coldwater fishery that could be adversely impacted, over
time, by the proposed water withdrawal. Stone Energy Corporation has not adequately
developed an operational plan showing that fish and other wildlife will not be affected
by these water withdrawals. The Upper Delaware River watershed offers one of the
finest wild trout fishing destinations in the East and simply cannot afford to be
an experiment for water withdrawals and potential toxic contamination related to
natural gas drilling activities.
WHAT YOU CAN DO
Tell the DRBC to reject both of the Stone Energy permit applications and not to issue
any permits for Marcellus Shale gas drilling activities in the Delaware River watershed
until it is has adopted 1) new regulations that include an analysis of, and take
into account, the anticipated cumulative impacts of all gas drilling activities in
the Delaware River watershed, and 2) an ecologically protective flow management plan
for the Upper Delaware River.
Sincerely,
Amy Wolfe
Acting Vice President for Eastern
Conservation
Trout Unlimited
Dave Rothrock
Chair
Pennsylvania TU Council
Ron Urban
Chair
New
York TU Council
Seeking Citizen River Monitors in the Marcellus Shale Region of the Upper Delaware
Become Trained in Stream Testing Protocols
& Help Protect Upper Delaware River Tributaries
Threatened by Natural Gas Extraction in the Pocono Region
Date & Time: Saturday, September
18, 2010 – 9:00am – 1:00pm
Location: PP&L Environmental Learning Center, 126 PP&L
Drive, Hawley PA
Cost: Free – equipment and space is limited so call to register
early
Trainers: Delaware Riverkeeper Network and PA Trout Unlimited
Register & Info:
faith@delawareriverkeeper.org or 215-369-1188 ext. 110 (please email your name, full
address, email and phone to register)
Join a group of committed Upper Delaware River
residents who are watchdogs for the streams in the Upper Delaware! This training,
funded in part by the Consortium for Scientific Assistance of Watersheds, is designed
for citizens willing to become part of an existing network of consistent volunteers
to collect field data for streams of the Delaware River that are threatened by hydraulic
fracturing for natural gas. To date, volunteer monitors have performed monthly testing
for 30 stations in the Upper Delaware since March 2010. Data have been used to testify
and provide important comment to agencies as permits are considered and to inform
advocacy efforts – the data also serve as baseline for local streams before drilling
occurs.
But with natural gas exploration looming, there are still unmonitored streams
where we need reliable volunteer teams to collect regular stream data to ensure these
streams are documented and studied in advance of any drilling. Consider being a volunteer
monitor to learn the tools you will need to help accomplish this river protection.
The workshop space is limited and equipment is also limited. No prior experience
is necessary. Delaware Riverkeeper Network has a limited number of monitoring kits
to assign to dedicated volunteers. Groups and local businesses may sponsor kits to
help with this important effort. Pre-order kits by August 27th to have additional
kits available by the training – kits cost $150 (and include electronic Lamotte Meter,
chloride test kit, and calibration solution).
Directions to PPL's Wallenpaupack Environmental
Learning Center - 126 PPL Drive, PO Box 122 Hawley, PA 18428
From Interstate 81 North
or South
Take Interstate 81 to Interstate 84 east. Take I-84 to Exit 8 (Mount Cobb/Hamlin).
Make a left at the end of the exit ramp. Go to traffic signal and make a right onto
Route 348 east. Follow Route 348 about three miles to the end. Make a left onto Route
590 east at the stop sign by Shaffer's Hardware. Follow Route 590 for about 15 miles
to U.S. Route 6. Make a right at the stop signal onto Route 6 east, go over the four-lane
concrete bridge and make the first right onto PPL Drive, the paved road for the Wallenpaupack
Environmental Learning Center.
From Allentown area
Take U.S. Route 22 east to Route
33 north and then Route 209 north and Interstate 80 east to Exit 309 (Marshalls Creek).
Follow Route 209 north to third traffic signal. Turn right, follow the next signal
just ahead and turn left. Make first right onto Route 402 north. Take Route 402 to
the end. Make left onto U.S. Route 6. Travel about two miles. Pass the Wallenpaupack
Area High School on your left. Make the next left onto PPL Drive, the paved road
for the Wallenpaupack Environmental Learning Center.
--
Faith Zerbe
Delaware Riverkeeper Network
300 Pond Street, Second Floor
Bristol PA 19007
Phone: 215.369.1188 x110
Cell: 610-291-1403
Fax: 215.369.1181
"In our single-minded focus on what rivers can do for us, we have ceased to consider what we must do for them. In the name of progress, we have auctioned off the commons to those who would most aggressively exploit its resources. We have lost sight of the reality that a river can only belong to all of us when it belongs to none of us." --- Jamie Blain, Stroud Water Research
Become an e-activist and stay up to date on important ways to get involved and make your voice heard! Visit www.delawareriverkeeper.org. Become a friend of the Delaware Riverkeeper on Facebook.
The Delaware Riverkeeper Network (DRN) is the only advocacy organization working throughout the entire Delaware River Watershed. The Delaware Riverkeeper is an individual who is the voice of the River, championing the rights of the River and its streams as members of our community. The Delaware Riverkeeper is assisted by seasoned professionals and a network of members, volunteers and supporters. Together they form DRN, and together they stand as vigilant protectors and defenders of the River, its tributaries and watershed. DRN is committed to restoring the watershed's natural balance where it has been lost and ensuring its preservation where it still exists.